Installation Art

"Almost any arrangement of objects in a given space can now be referred to as installation art, from a conventional display of paintings to a few well-placed sculptures in a garden. It has become the catch-all description that draws attention to its staging, and as a result it’s almost totally meaningless." - Claire Bishop, Tateetc.
http://www.tate.org.uk/tateetc/issue3/butisitinstallationart.htm

what is installation?
Installation is defined in the dictionary as to place something in a position....which marries my own interpretation of the definition in that in order to create a piece of installation art, one is composing the space as much as the individual pieces of work.
this is more than having a series of work, but a connection between the series. by working with the space you are inviting the audience to relate to the work in a specific way - enabling them to make the connections and provide a provoking engagement.

some critic are quite scathing about installation art because many people term their work this way, when it might be a series or a set of sculptures, plus, installation art is tainted by the pretentious brush of some, which does not help when defining media. i personally think there are some great installation artists out there, among them - Ilya Kabakov
one of my favourites and a great source of inspiration.